An artist's impressions of the planned indoor waterfall for Changi Airport's Jewel terminal. Photo / Supplied
An artist's impressions of the planned indoor waterfall for Changi Airport's Jewel terminal. Photo / Supplied
Revamped Changi Airport will add a new dimension to stopovers, writes Morgan Tait.
If being stuck in transit at Changi was like a holiday in itself before, layovers will be redefined when the award-winning airport opens its new Jewel terminal.
The largest man-made indoor waterfall in the world will cascade 40m from the centre of the glass-domed building when it opens in 2018. The "Rain Vortex" will flow through the centre of a 10-storey, flora-lined atrium and double as a light show at night.
Travellers will be able to hike through the "Forest Valley" indoor gardens that will account for nearly 65 per cent of the 134,000sq m new structure.
The world's sixth busiest airport, Changi has won close to 500 awards for its fast passenger processing and host of features, including a sunflower garden, rooftop swimming pool, short-stay hotel rooms, free internet, spending money and even a free tour of Singapore.
Designed by Moshe Safdie, the architect behind Marina Bay Sands, the $17 billion ground-breaking new structure was launched to international media on-site in December.
Construction on the site, currently an open-air car park next to Terminal 1, has already begun. It will also have a five-storey underground car park.
Safdie told a gathering of hundreds of stakeholders he wanted to create a "diverse and meaningful meeting place that serves as a gateway to the city and country, complementing commerce and services with attractions and gardens for passengers, airport employees, and the city at large".
The design was based on the marketplaces of his native Israel.
"Our goal was to bring together the duality of a vibrant marketplace and a great urban park, side by side in a singular and immersive experience."
An artist's impression of Canopy Park at Changi Airport, Singapore. Photo / Supplied
Changi chief executive Lee Seow Hiang told the crowd how the new structure built on Singapore's reputation as "a garden city and a city in a garden". "Having gone through a whole gamut of ideas, ranging from a theme park to a space port, we settled on a signature building that was founded on two key elements: the first would be a huge, stunning garden that would captivate travellers and Singaporeans alike."
Locals were well known to travel to the airport for its shopping and entertainment, with $2.2 billion of retail sales in 2013.
Jewel will partner with shopping mall giant, CapitaLand Malls Asia.
"We believe the duet of spectacular gardens with best-in-class retail experience will create a unique platform for our retail partners to tell the stories of their brands in a way that will be hard to replicate anywhere in the world."
Project Jewel coincides with an upgrade of Terminal 1 that will increase its passenger handling from 17.1 million to 24 million.
